Brave Souls
by moonlight64
Summary: "What on arda have I done to deserve this?" Thorin growled lowly. "Stop crying and hand me a dagger." Niva answered, bracing herself for the fight that was about to follow. - Niva Edhellen was never one to let people close. So when she overhears the conversation of a dwarf and a wizard, no one could have known that the company of Thorin Oakenshield would one day save her life.
1. Chapter 1 - how it all began

A loud thunder, a lightning faster than human eyes could see, and then: silence. Mere seconds later the world was drowning in heavy rain. The water masses poured down on Niva as she watched the people of Bree flee from the upcoming storm. Windows were hastily closed, Children were called inside and merchants tried to save their goods from the water. Yet, she was in no hurry to escape the storm and quietly kept sitting on the wet ground next to a wooden barn. It made her chuckle how desperately everyone tried to not get drenched. She didn't mind the water and being cold was something Niva was very much used to. And so she kept watching the storm until lightnings started hitting the ground too close to where she was seated. With a heavy sigh she got up and made her way through the rain towards the only homely place around, the Prancing Pony. As soon as she opened the door, a thick smell of ale and sweat greeted her. A few judging eyes were laid upon her as she sat down in one of the few remaining spaces and slowly took off her drenched coat, revealing a once white linen shirt. Its buttons had fallen off long ago and in some parts dried blood stained the fabric almost black. It stood open in the front, revealing a robust leather corset. At the praying eyes of some fellows on the other side of the room, Niva unwrapped a leather string from her ponytail and instead tied it around her waist, at least partially closing the linen shirt. Now her black hair stuck to her head and bust like the drenched mess it was. As a waiter appeared at her side, she looked up.

" Hello Miss, what can I bring you?" The waiter asked politely, even though Niva could see the haste in his small eyes. He tried very hard not to stare at two fellows on the other side of the room.

" I don't want anything, I'll just sit here until the storm has passed..." Niva answered, following the waiters eyes with her own. But as soon as she had answered, his head snapped back to her.

" Order something or leave, we have no space for the folks who come here looking for pity."

" Fine, then bring me an ale, a strong one." She answered annoyed, still looking at the fellow with the long gray beard on the other side of the room.

The waiter smirked. " An ale for a lady? That's funny..."

Not even half a second later Niva rammed a small dagger into the wooden table, right in between the waiter's chubby fingers. " Do we have a problem?" She hissed quietly. The waiter on the other hand stared at her in shock for a second before hurrying off.

Now it was Niva's turn to smirk, as she put the dagger back into its hiding place. Now that more or less everyone was ignoring her again, she continued to look around at the people. Some strange folks had sought refuge here in the inn. Most of them didn't catch her interest. The bearded, tall fellow however interested her. In his company was a dwarf, also bearded. However all dwarfs Niva had ever met were bearded so this wasn't much of a surprise. The two unlike companions seemed quite serious and tense. Curiosity got the better of Niva and she tried to listen as closely as she could to their conversation. The few pieces she could pick up however did not make much sense to her. Only as her ale was carelessly dropped onto the table in front of her, she stopped staring. After taking a sip she looked back to her persons of interest only to find the tall one gone. Surprised she decided to take a closer look at the dwarf, now that the tall guy wasn't blocking her sight anymore. For a dwarf this fellow was quite tall, compared to the human men that were sitting on the tables next to him. He was quite handsome as well, but Niva had seen better, or so she told herself. Yet there was something dark and somewhat dangerous about him, like a forest at night. Suddenly he looked up, meeting Niva's gaze. She was not one to look away, all shy and giggly, and so, for a second, they stared at each other, both wondering. Then the gray fellow came back and both men made for the door. With a sigh, Niva drank her ale in one big gulp and put the jug down with enough force to make the wooden table quiver.

" Not all that bad for a lady..." Slurred a drunken man sitting at the table next to hers.

" Thank you..." She answered politely and stood up. There was nothing more she could do here, now that the interesting folks were gone.

" Do I know you from somewhere?" The drunkard asked with a smirk. " I could swear I've seen you... disrobed?"

" I am most certain you have not." Niva answered short tempered, continuing to make her way through the crowd towards the door. Outside it was still raining heavily, and only the thunder was still to hear. As the cold air hit her face, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The night was a beautiful thing. So welcoming for those who like to wander, and oh so calming for those with troubled minds. Slowly she made her way around the house, into the shadows. But she was not alone. Before her opponent could do as much as draw a weapon, she had him pinned against the wall of the neighboring building. It was the dwarf from the inn; she was not surprised at all. People usually didn't like it when she spied on them. The speed with which she moved had overwhelmed the dwarf for a moment, but now that he was pinned against a dirty wall by a female, less than his height, he came back to mind quickly. With heavy, strong movements he pushed her away and drew his sword.

" Who are you and what is your business in listening to others' conversations?" He asked quietly, yet with such anger that made Niva shiver. He slowly walked towards her, sword aimed at her neck. Niva on the other side did not bother to threaten him, so exaggeratedly slow she put back her dagger in its sheath under her coat. This seemed to irritate the dwarf quite a bit, but he did not lower his weapon. " Speak, woman!"

Niva smiled teasingly but then answered though. " My business, such as my name, is none of yours. However will I tell you why I was listening: Merely because I had no other business to mind! You two fellows seemed to be more interesting than the drunkards and burglars in there."

" What exactly did you hear?" He growled.

" Oh, this and that..." She teased on. " But nothing that would be harmful to you or your important quest..."

" What do you know about it?!" He shouted and his voice mixed with thunder, making it sound like a deep, dark growl from within the earth. Niva liked the sound of it, but it also indicated that the game was over.

" I know nothing, I swear to you. Alone the seriousness on your faces and the place where you met, an inn loud enough to hinder everyone's ears from picking up on your conversation, were indicators for the importance of what you needed to discuss. Let alone the fact that the gray beard gave you a map of which content however I don't know." She told truthfully. " It was all just a guessing game until you confirmed it to me, just now. See, I know not more than you are telling me at the moment." Niva looked into the dwarf's eyes, but could see nothing of the rage and bloodlust she would have suspected. On the contrary, she saw worry and relief. With a little bit of guilt she added, " Look, I am sorry for listening. I meant no harm by it."

Slowly the dwarf lowered his sword and looked at her for a short moment before answering. "You should put an end to that habit of yours. It could lead to a bad end for you."

With a short but bitter laugh she pulled down the collar of her coat and shirt, revealing a large scar on her collarbone. "It already has quite often, so don't worry about me. I'm a tough girl."

The dwarf's eyebrows narrowed, forming a deep crease. " Well then, whoever you are... My quest is none of your concern. If you ever listen on me again I will give your scar a twin." He put back his sword and turned to leave. " Good luck, stranger in the dark, at finding your own quest." With that he had vanished into darkness.

Niva frowned. That had been oddly entertaining, even if she had been reckless. He could have killed her in an instant and yet she did not care. When had her own life become to worthless to her? Just as she was about to wander off into the darkness as well, she heard a noise. The sound of heavy boots on the mud of the streets. It came closer and closer to her, even though she walked backwards, further into the darkness. Until suddenly her back touched the tip of a blade.

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 **Chapter 2 anyone? I hope you liked it and will follow Niva on her journey. :)**

 **Virtual cookies for everyone who reviews ;)**


	2. Chapter 2 - strangers in the dark

_It came closer and closer to her, even though she walked backwards, further into the darkness. Until suddenly her back touched the tip of a blade._

Shock ran through her spine like an electric jolt and she blamed that stupid dwarf for distracting her enough to be sneaked up on.

 _Focus!_ , she told herself, _This has happened to you before, it's fine, it's alright, you will manage this- as always._

" Look who we have here!" A cheery male voice echoed through the dark. " A damsel in distress, all wet and desperate."

It had to be someone from the inn, as the voice was as foreign to her as the strong, unpleasant smell this creature emitted.

" And oh, what beautiful hair she has…" A raspy voice behind her purred. It must belong to the owner of the dagger which was currently poking her back.

" Leave me alone." Niva said coldly, calm even. On the inside however her mind was screaming. Not in fear, but in rage and disappointment. Why were men such pigs? Cowards… Instead of asking a lady out, they took fate in their own hands. The thought disgusted Niva way more than it frightened her.

" Oh, you want to leave already? But the fun has yet to begin!" The man in front of her said sweetly. " Den, search her for weapons. I assume we have a fierce one tonight!"

Before the disgusting creature behind her, called Den, could lay as much as a finger on her, she drew a throwing knife from a hidden pocket in her coat and rammed it into the man's chest. A loud scream cut through the air, ringing painfully in Nivas ears. She was used to the scream of an animal when it was hit by the deathblow. But human screams always caused cold sweat on her back. After all those years of hearing them, while after while, they still had an impact on her which she would love to deny, even to herself. But she could not. It was terrible.

 _When had it stopped raining?_ , she wondered as the dagger that had seconds ago stabbed her in the back now hit the wet ground.

Den was still screaming and crying on the ground, while his friend tried to grab Niva by the arm. Such a stupid move, he realized seconds later as his arm was forcefully twisted on his back. " Help! Help!" He shouted, as if his buddy's screams hadn't already attracted enough audience. " She wants to rob us poor, honest souls!"

Niva felt many eyes on her back. Some folks had come back outside after it had stopped raining, only to see her standing next to a heavily wound man while twisting another's arm.

 _Great, now that THEY call for help you are coming…_ She thought in annoyance. As she saw guards approaching from down the road, she pushed the evil creature away from her into the mud. As soon as he was free he screeched " Get her! Go! She is evil to this town!"

But Niva didn't care much about him. All towner's eyes were filled with horror and disgust. Bree was burnt territory.

Checking for possible ways to escape, she finally decided that there was no other way but to go after the dwarf into the dark. At least she was comfortable with the dark, as opposed to the towners.

How long has it been since the dwarf had left? A few minutes maybe? She sprinted into the direction she hoped he did not choose, followed by the guards of Bree.

Being on the run was nothing new for Niva. In her business, escaping was almost a daily chore and it made her stronger every time, or so she told herself. Always on the run, always watching, always careful. That was her life and it always had been. No one had ever asked if she liked what she did, but they all wanted her help. She was the best in what she was doing and they knew. Thus, fleeing from a few old men and family fathers was nothing special to her. It even amused her to the slightest part.

Their torches had light her way ahead for quite a while but as she gained distance to them, the light slowly faded. The darkness closed in on her and she finally felt more comfortable again. The darkness was an old friend welcoming her in his arms and she gratefully accepted it.

After a few minutes she could hear heavy footsteps in the distance behind and in front of her. The guards were still following her… And ahead was probably her _acquaintance_ from before. What a mess. She dreaded to cause the dwarf trouble again for she did not know if he would make his threat come true. At least the running was not tiring for her as it was for her followers. A few moments later she had gained some distance and was catching up to the dwarf.

" Master dwarf!" She called from a few feet behind him. He simply kept walking, ignoring her, but she won't have herself ignored and stepped in front of him.

" Didn't I tell you to stay away?" He growled and pushed her out of his way. " Or are you looking for a fight?"

Stumbling, Niva growled quietly but stepped in front of him again. " I merely wanted to inform you that guards are nearing, but if you intend to be stubborn as a… well, dwarf, then go ahead!" Niva was not willing to put any more effort into him than he deserved for his unnecessary roughness. Without a further word she hurried off the path, into the thick green of the forest that surrounded them and vanished into darkness. The curiosity however not even this situation could free her from and she hid behind a thick shrub in the undergrowth. And she had not had a second more to waste, as the guards caught up with the dwarf right in this moment.

" Have you seen a lass with black hair coming this way, out of town?" A guard, clad in a dark robe, asked hastily.

Niva stared at the dwarf in raw anticipation of what he would do, holding her breath unconsciously. If he gave her away she would not hesitate to chop some of that dark, long hair of his right off his scalp.

With his lips slightly opened as if to speak he glanced in her direction, only assuming where in the undergrowth she was hiding.

" What did this _lass_ do to be haunted by almost the whole guard of Bree?" The dwarf asked calmly, looking the one head taller guard straight into the eyes.

" Sh..she stabbed a defenseless man in the chest and tried to rob another…" The guard answered, obviously intimidated by the dwarf's intense stare. " Did you see her, now?"

Niva cursed under her breath. Had they not seen the dagger?! Defenseless man… She almost laughed at the irony. Who on earth would believe a _woman_ … Let alone a woman with a knife.

" I saw a dark haired lass…" The dwarf answered slowly, making Niva grunt in rage. How could he?! " But she is here with me now. We left Bree together, she cannot be the one you are looking for."

Nervously the guards looked around, searching the dark with their poor eyes. " Well, where is she then?"

Impulsively Niva covered her face with a bit of Mud and tied her hair up in a knot, hiding her hair under the hood of her coat. Then she picked up a few logs of wood and stepped out of the dusk. " I'm here… was just collecting some firewood for me and my… friend." She forced a smile as she stepped back on the path.

" This is not the girl we are looking for… She had whiter skin and long hair." A guard further behind declared. In the dim light of the torches they could not distinguish the mud from a natural skin color. It almost made Niva grin, but she contained herself.

" Well then, we must search the area around the town. Thank you, master dwarf and… lady… for your help." And as quickly as they had arrived, the guards retreated back into the direction of the town.

" Thank you…" Niva said politely as they were surrounded by darkness again. It embarrassed her to have had her fate in someone else's hands, but she was also thankful.

" What was your business with the guards?" He asked instead of replying to her. " And do not tell me that it is none of my business because now it is just that! You made it my business when you followed me."

Dropping the logs in an instant, Niva answered. " Well, for one, I did not follow you. There merely was no other way out of the town. And yes, I assume I owe you an explanation." She sighed and picked on the drying mud in her face. " Right after you left two men were trying to have their way with me, and well, I do not like people touching me. So I might have stabbed one. The other one I almost didn't touch, he just cried like a baby…"

The dwarf rose an eyebrow at her. " So you stabbed someone."

" Technically yes, but he was NOT innocent!" She almost shouted the last part. " Men like him do this all the time! They harass women out of fun and no one will do anything about it!"

" But you will?" He asked almost teasingly.

" I…" Niva sighed. " I can't help anyone really. I only help myself."

" Well, by stabbing the creature who tried his luck on you tonight, I would assume you helped at least a few." He smiled. Niva couldn't believe it, he really did smile!

" Well, thank you anyway for your help." Niva smiled back carefully, unsure of what to expect from the newly gained friendliness.

" You're welcome." He said, his smile fading. For a few moments they merely watched each other in silence, then the dwarf turned to walk on.

" My name is Niva… if you still care to know." She said quickly. For some reason she enjoyed his company. He might be scary at times but also somewhat amusing and exciting.

He turned around again and looked her right in the eyes. " Thorin. At your service." With that he bowed slightly and turned away, to the road ahead and walked on.

Now Niva stood alone in the dark of the night. She considered following him, but decided that she had stretched her luck enough already for a day.

Without much thought to it she started straying off the path into the dark forest. Maybe somewhere she would find a place to sleep for a bit. But as long as she walked, there was not one dry place to rest for the night. It seemed like the forest didn't want her there at all. But in the quiet she could finally relax a little, with no one to see her, nothing to threaten her and no one to care about but herself. What the dwarf- Thorin- might be doing? Probably sleeping. Or walking sleepless like her through the night. As she dwelled in her thoughts, she did not notice that suddenly she was on a path again. At the realization she looked around, only to see pitch black night. Groaning she decided to follow it. Wherever it might lead, she had nowhere to be anyway. At least not in the moment.

As the night came to a slow end and it was about to dawn, Niva could hardly keep her eyes open anymore. A full night of walking on the slowly drying paths was enough to drain all energy she had left from her body. So when she came to a river at sunrise she sighed in relief- at least she could have some water and clean herself up a little. The mud from last night and also the blood from...before, were still clinging onto her like heavy stones which dragged her down with every step. With the first sun rays she made her way to the shore of the river and drank the clean water greedily. Since the stupid ale she had not had anything to drink, let alone food… She was starving. But for now the water did wonders to her mood. She did not feel as awful as before anymore, however still tired. Thus she washed her dirty clothes and bathed as quickly as possible, only to lay down in the warm sun afterwards. Content she closed her eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep.

A sharp pain went through her whole body, startling her awake. For a second she saw a terribly scarred face, before her eyes were covered by an incredibly strong hand, many more pressing her down to the ground. As much as she tried to struggle and fight, her body wouldn't move.

" Look who we have here..." A cruel sounding voice echoed through her head. Then, everything went black.

* * *

 **What might be waiting? Will she meet Thorin again? Or rather WHEN will she meet him again? So many questions...**

 **Next chapter we'll have: A little insight into Thorin's POV ;)**

 **Hope you liked this chapter and will let me know if you do!** **Stay tuned for our journey ;)**

 **Question to you: what do you think will happen next?**


	3. Chapter 3 - Thorin

**_Thorin's POV:_**

 _As Thorin followed the path through the forest he finally had time to think about all that had happened. The map, Gandalf and also the strange lass from the inn… Niva. He couldn't be so sure about what she had heard and yet he was not as bothered as he should be._

 _There was something about her that made him trust her not to have lied to him. A twig cracked between his heavy boots, followed by a louder crack somewhere deep in the dark of the forest. He was pulled out of his thoughts, looking at his surroundings. Was it her again? Did she follow him still? He remained silently standing for a short while before returning to his thoughts and walking on._

 _Why did he feel a slight disappointment now? Had he really hoped that the lady would follow him? The crease between his brows deepened and his steps gained speed. How stupid of him. She had spied on him and gotten him into trouble twice already. It was an insanely stupid idea to even be thinking about this… what race was she even?! She was WAY too short for an elf, but too swift and sly for a human. Also her looks were too… inhuman. For a dwarf she was lacking hair, tons of hair. Thorin smiled to himself at the thought. Her hair was nice though, black as the deepest of night. She had no elf ears nor hobbit feet… What was she? If he would ever see her again he would be sure to ask._

 _The only thing he knew was that she had intrigued him in a way he had not experienced in a while. Something was wrong with her though, yet he could not tell what it was. Like a shadow that followed her around that made him shiver when he came too close to her._

 _And that scar of hers… At first he had wondered how such a small lass could have gotten such a scar, but after their second meet he could answer himself that question. She was strange in every way he could name and yet he thought about her now. What she might be doing now? Probably knocking out some folks on the other side of the forest while he was still making his slow way to the other side._

 _He tried to push aside the thoughts about Niva and focus on the task at hand. He had to get to his kin as fast as possible and after that meet Gandalf in the shire. A tiny part of him wished that Niva would still be in this part of the county once he returns. It would be a while… A quite long while._

 _Stop it! He scolded himself. Stop thinking about this… this_ brat _of a lady. Her face was covered in mud when he last saw her, how despicable… And she was not even pretty. He didn't like green eyes nor liked he freckles. And scars had no place on a lady's body._

 _He stumbled over a branch on the path, but did not fall. Probably she had put it there just to mock him._ _But as desperately as he tried to tell himself these things he also knew that he was lying to himself. She was interesting and he had to make his peace with it._

 _Once more he tried to focus more on the upcoming days than on the oh so recent past and this time only, he could ban Niva from his thoughts._

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 **Looks like Thorin is quite busy all by himself ;) Just a short intersection with Thorin's thoughts on the current ongoings.**

 **Next chapter we will find out that is happening to Niva!**

 **Reviews are always welcome and appreciated ;P**


	4. Chapter 4 - A bird in a cage

_A sharp pain went through her whole body, startling her awake. For a second she saw a terribly scarred face, before her eyes were covered by an incredibly strong hand, many more pressing her down to the ground. As much as she tried to struggle and fight, her body wouldn't move._

 _"Look who we have here..." A cruel sounding voice echoed through her head. Then, everything went black._

As Niva woke up, her head hurt terribly, but she realized in relief that she had control over her body again. Moving however turned out to be difficult. Only then she realized where she was- in a small cage on a cart. It was pulled by an even larger one, filled a few feet high with dead bodies. They were following the river southwest, according to the setting sun.

After a moment of shock, she noticed an incredible cold hitting her bare skin as the sun disappeared. Horror came to her eyes as she was only clad in her linen shirt. The remaining clothes alongside with her weapons were gone. Maybe the creatures who had taken her hostage had taken them… Maybe they had not even found them and her gear was still laying peacefully on the rock by the river bed. She could not see anyone, for the pile of corpses was too high for her to view to the front of the caravan.

Panic started to arise within her and she scrambled to her knees, shaking on the bars of her cage.

"Hello?! Hey! Let me out!" Her voice was as hoarse and dried out as she felt.

From the front she heard horses, their hoofbeat mixed with the quiet murmur of the river beside them. Yet there was no sign of her capturers whatsoever and she sunk down again, her back leaning against the bars on the opposite site. The cage was rather small, probably made for dwarves rather than men or elves. To her luck, Niva was rather short herself and thus she could at least sit upright. There was no door she could see nor any possible way to escape. The bars were of solid iron and thicker than her arm.

Niva let out a long breath, angrily wiping away a tear that had escaped her eye without notice. They had gotten her, whoever they were… She had been so stupid to sleep unhidden from everyone's eyes. However if she had walked on she would have passed out sooner or later on the open field. On that prospect the river bank with its tall grass and deep shadows hadn't seemed like the worst idea. Now however she was beyond angry at her stupidity.

She knew perfectly well why she had been taken. There were people all over the lands who were eager to pay a high price for her head.

Alive was probably more profitable for the ones selling, at least that made her glad in an odd way.

It just had to be this way, she knew it from the beginning… Her only chance was to escape and right to this point she had absolutely no idea how she could accomplish that.

For hours she sat in silence, until eventually, in the deepest of night, she saw the gleam of torches in the distance. Immediately she rose to her knees again , hitting her head on the roof of the cage. But it did not matter for she had only now found a small spark of hope.

"Help me!" She shouted from the top of her lungs but the light did not near nor did it her caravan alter its direction. "Hey! Hello, help me!" She tried again and again but eventually the light faded into darkness behind them.

Now that all hope was destroyed and she believed to never be free again, she let herself cry for what seemed like the first time in an eternity. But not even that might console her solemn soul and soon there were no tears left she could shed over her unfortunate fate.

Angry about herself she hit her fits against the steel bars, hissing in pain. She would not give up, this was not her end. Crying about one's own fate did nothing to it. It was up to herself to change it. For now there might be nothing she can do, but once the situation changed to the slightest she would take advantage of it. For now she leaned her head back with a sigh and closed her eyes.

 _Blood covered her hand, including the sharp dagger she was holding. In slow streaks it ran down to her wrist and dropped to the ground beneath her. Screams as sharp as a knife cut through the air around her, ringing in her ears like the unbearable pain she felt in her chest. The body in front of her had stopped struggling and now, blood was forming soft patterns in the dust on the ground. She had not meant to do this, what had happened? There was a fire somewhere close, she could feel its warmth on her skin and occtionally the flames lacked on the skin of her arm. People were running and screaming around her. Someone pulled her away from behind, but she could not take her eyes off the figure on the ground. It was dark, and she could barely see in the smoke the fire had caused. Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone running towards her, sword risen. And as if she again had no control over her body, she lifted her daggers and attacked her opponent. He was tall and strong, but she was faster. From behind her she heard another one approaching. And another one. From all sides they were coming._

 _A sudden pain short through her leg, right up into her head and back. Letting out a loud scream, she looked down onto the deep gash on her inner thigh. There was no time for pain nor for any more thought on it. Everything went black, then her surroundings came into vision again. Slayn. Every single one around her, not one was alive. She stood in a sea of blood and fire._

Niva startled awake as her cart swayed over a tree's root.

The sun was about to rise and light flooded the plateau they were currently crossing. She let out a shivering breath and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Unconsciously she stroke over the long but healed scar on her inner thigh. She should not have slept in the first place. But nothing had changed, they were still going southwest and still nothing but empty land was to be seen.

Even though it would be in vain again, she rose to her knees and pressed her head against the bars, leaning as far outside as the bars would let her. "I am starving! I need food and water!" She shouted at the ones in the front, loud enough to be heard even by the deafest ears. "Answer me! Or I will rip your head off when I get out of here!" Still no answer. With a loud scream she threw herself against the bars, again and again, knowing that her body would heavily bruise. But bruised was better than dead and thus she continued on and on until she could feel the wagon swaying heavily. After a few more heavy pushes she had accomplished what was her intention: the cart fell over to the side, with her in it. She groaned when she hit the ground, but immediately tried to find an exit. Still, there was none. But the caravan had stopped, and though the bars above her she saw three men approaching.

"You! Hey! I need water!" She shouted at them but they seemed to ignore her.

"Hope we'll get the promised price for her at least." Said one of them in a grim voice.

"Can't we kill her right on the spot and save ourselves from this… trouble she causes?" Aked another quite annoyed.

"Quiet now! She is worth this mess, but we need her alive!" Answered the third. He must be the leader, Niva assumed.

"But I _will_ die if you don't give me water! And then you won't get paid a coin, because _you_ let me die!" She shouted at the men as they pushed her cart back on its wheels.

"Can you not keep your ugly mouth shut for once in awhile?" The third man glanced at Niva and she recognized the scars on his face immediately. She had seen it before, before yesterday and long before she cared to think back. He must have seen the surprise in her face, as he said "What, are you surprised I am not dead? Like the others?" He laughed bitterly.

"Master, you know this lowly lass?" One of the other men asked.

"We have met once, a long time ago." The leader answered, not taking his eyes off of Niva.

"That was in a different life." Niva added coldly. "I am not this person anymore."

"But you made a lot of enemies, little Niva, enough for a hundred lifetimes." He grinned at her.

"Wait, what has this lass done to you?" Asked the first. "Is that why we cannot kill her already?"

"To put it simple for you two, _she_ is the reason I have these scars." Said he grimly, turning away. "Give her water, I cannot have her dying on me. The price for her is too high."

Soon the caravan moved on and Niva was given a small bottle of water. She could not believe that after all those years they met again. At their first encounter he was still a young man, not more than 20 years. Now his hair was gray from age and weather and his body thick from good food and ale.

Niva thought back to that day in question. At that time she had not been free like she was today… More or less, as it seemed at the moment. They had travelled south and crossed Edoras, where they made rest. During one of her _errands_ as she used to call them, this fellow interfered and it came to a fight. She always thought she had ended his life that night, she even would have sworn by it. But as it seemed, he was right here with her, selling her to either one of her other _errands_ from the past or to someone requesting an errant. She had left that life behind her long ago and yet it followed her to the present. Why did the people of middle earth put so much into revenge? She did not know. Maybe because she had always carried out other folks' revenge, never her own.

With a sigh she realized that she would never fully escape her past, as much as she tried to. The lad was right, she had enough enemies for a hundred lifetimes. And as it appeared, she had made even more in Bree. With a groan she put her elbows on her knees and hid her face in her hands. Death and pain just followed her wherever she went. Everyone who made the mistake of getting too close to her met a bad fate. And now, she was about to pay for that.

They went on for a couple more days, and then another couple and every day she got at least a little water to keep her alive. The lack of food though slowly weakened her body, not her spirit however. She believed that she would get out of this. She had to. Even if she could not sit up by her own strength anymore, after nearly one and a half weeks without anything to eat.

When finally she saw mountains in the distance, she knew where they were headed. The blue mountains lay right in front of them. Niva smiled to herself, as much as her left energy would allow. She had been here before, not because she wanted to, but it was something she knew anyway and that made her slightly more comfortable.

After another day's travel, they reached the slopes of the mountains. There lay a town of men, a quite large one to be precise. So here she would be sold…

The caravan stopped in the middle of what seemed like a market place. Niva looked around without moving her head, she was just so tired… A man opened her cage and she used her last strength to pull herself out of it before he could grab her. With a quiet thud she hit the dirty ground, trying to raise to her feet, but the man was faster. It was not scarface, this man was too strong to be of his age. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up, dragging her to a small booth.

"Give this lass a piece of bread and lock her away with the others. We are still waiting for the highest bid." Said the man to another, who immediately left the booth to do as he was told.

Niva was soon after thrown into yet another cage, hanging on a big tree in the middle of the market place. There were some other cages, but she could not identify what poor creatures were locked away there. Finally she was given a small loaf of bread. It was burnt on one end and probably would not have been sold to anyone anymore. And yet Niva was incredibly thankful for it, devouring it almost within a minute. Never in her life had a piece of burnt bread tasted so good, or maybe she simply did not remember.

After she had eaten even the last crumb, she felt life slowly return to her body. After a few hours she could sit up again, even search her cage for a possible way to escape. It hung quite far above the ground, but not high enough for her not to jump down. Yet, she did not find a way to open the cage. With a sigh she looked around, inspecting the other cages in the tree. Most of them had either orcs, dwarves or some humans in it. They all were cowering in their cages, small and tired. They must have been hanging here for a long time, Niva knew how long it took for dwarves to stop fighting and orcs to stop screaming.

Niva had to admit she was glad to be here and not in a dark cell somewhere in a cellar below the city. Here she could watch the life around her. Many humans were trading or drinking around the place, some had carts and horses, some had booths. Niva also spotted some dwarves, but not many, as this was a city of men. The dwarves here rarely left the mountain, even though sometimes they passed through here on their journeys. There were so many people… She could not make out faces further away, but the ones below her were quite visible.

"Hello?" She shouted down to the people. "Hey! Up here!"

Some looked up to her, angry about her loud voice interrupting their business.

"Help me, please! Get me out of here!" She tried, not pleading but way more friendly than she usually was.

"Shut your mouth, filth like you deserves punishment!" A man shouted and spit to the ground below her cage. Niva was quite shocked, for she had never done anything to these people. There was no reason for such hostility. And it was not like she was _that_ famous among… well, anyone. Certain people with a lot of money and influence knew of her, but to the common folk she was as good as any stranger on the street.

"What did I do to you? Why do you think I need to be punished?" She shouted down again, honestly curious.

"Well, if you hadn't done anything you would not be hanging on that tree, would ya?" Answered a lady with round cheeks and a basket full of fresh fruit.

"But I swear to you, I was merely taking a nap when I was captured! I had not even harmed a worm below me!" Niva felt like this lady was more willing to listen to her.

"But why?" The lady asked, looking around nervously. She probably feared punishment for talking to a prisoner.

"I do not know!" Niva lied, more or less. "Maybe to be sold to the highest bidder as a servant. Or worse, as a slave! You must help me, please!"

The lady got increasingly nervous, Niva could see that. Yet she hoped for help.

"Sorry lassie, I can't help ya…" The lady said with pity in her voice. "Or I'll be hanging up there with ya tomorrow."

"But…" Niva started, realizing that she was probably right and stopped talking. She did not want to get her in trouble, she probably had children to care for.

"Here!" She shouted and a second later Niva caught an apple the lady had thrown up to her. "Good luck lassie." With that the lady hurried away, hiding her face with her hand.

Niva stared at the apple in her hand like she had never before seen one. She did not need pity from anyone. And yet it was such a sweet gesture despite the lady being so frightened of her own people. She should be thankful.

As the day passed and night fell upon the town, Niva had eaten the apple, only leaving the center.

She was tired, but not tired enough to fall asleep. The crowd had thinned out, but there were still quite many people. Niva watched them with sharp eyes, hoping to see at least one face that did not twitch in disgust upon seeing her. She couldn't really look all that bad, could she? There wasn't even blood on her shirt, she didn't know what these people's problem was.

Only late after midnight, when every trade had long been moved inside the small houses, she finally saw something that made her heart beat faster and pure excitement run through her body. There it was, her way out of this cage and out of this situation. It came in form of the only familiar face she would never have assumed to see here. Even though it was not even to the slightest unlikely, but she simply hadn't thought of it.

In the shadows of the houses walked a dwarf. And not any dwarf, of course it had to be _this_ dwarf. Her dwarf. At that thought she frowned and quickly shook it out of her head. That could have been easily misunderstood. But technically since he was the only dwarf she personally knew… It did not matter. There he was, rushing over the completely silent place. Thorin Oakenshield. Niva was actually very glad to be bothering him this time. She tired call his name, as quietly as her excitement would allow. But he did not hear. In pure desperation she took the only thing she could find in the cell and threw it in his direction, for he was not all that far away. The piece of apple hit him at the back of his head and in an instant he turned around, his sword ready in his hand. Confused, he looked around but saw nothing.

"Thorin! Thorin Oakenshield!" Niva hissed loudly, afraid that she would draw too much attention to herself. "Hey! Up here!"

After a few seconds Thorin's gaze met hers and she could see his eyes widen at the realization of who was hanging up there in the tree. He took a few steps towards the tree, standing almost right below her. "Niva?!" He hissed upwards, both confused and annoyed. But Niva didn't care, he was her way out of this.

"Yes yes, it is me! Help me out of here!" She whispered in a hurry.

"Why are you up there?" Thorin asked, also concerned that their conversation might be heard.

Niva rolled her eyes at him. "I will explain everything you want to know, but _please_ , for mahal's sake, just _get me out of here_!"

With a not so quiet grumble Thorin looked around, clearly not amused by her continued troublemaking abilities. "How?" He asked, not quite happy about the upcoming trouble.

"Well…" Niva looked around herself and discovered that her cage was hung up by a thick rope. "If you could cut that rope above me, the cage will fall down and maybe the bar will bend."

"And _how_ am I supposed to cut that rope?" He growled, already looking for his axe.

"Aren't you dwarves always packed up to the rim with weapons of all kind?" Niva groaned. "Just do it, I don't care how."

"Great…" Thorin mumbled under his breath, but Niva heard it still. He pulled out a rather small axe, probably suited for throwing. _Probably…_ Niva thought, but she had to trust him. He new his weapons, or so she hoped.

With a sigh, he aimed at the rope, swinging the weapon. Then, he let go and Niva could feel a faint blow of wind as the axe cut right through the rope, shortly above her head. The next thing she knew was pain, as the cage hit the ground below. Groaning she looked at the bars. They had not bent quite that far, but Thorin was already trying to widen the gap with another axe and a lot of leverage. Just as it was wide enough, she squeezed herself through, stumbling out of the cage.

"Thank you!" She said a little more breathlessly than she wanted to.

"Do you get yourself in trouble on purpose whenever I am near?!" He scolded her, but yet helped her to stand up.

"Only on good days." She answered with a smirk. Then she saw the men with torches who were currently running straight towards them. The rough landing of her cage must have been quite noisy and now there were guards approaching from every side of the market place. Scarface was among them and also his two companions, so much Niva could tell in the dim light.

"Ready for a little exercise?" She joked, trying to sound more confident than she truly felt.

"What on arda have I done to deserve this?" Thorin growled, twisting his sword in his hand.

"Stop crying and hand me a dagger." Niva answered, steadying herself for the fight that was about to follow.

* * *

 **Uuh, a fight! Ecxiting ;P**

 **Hope you liked it and let me know! What was your favorite part?**

 **Next chapter: FIGHT! And maybe a long way to hobbition ;)**


	5. Chapter 5 - the (far) well?

_"Stop crying and hand me a dagger." Niva answered, steadying herself for the fight that was about to follow._

With a sigh Thorin handed her a rather long dagger. It was the last weapon he carried except for his own sword. "Don't hurt yourself." He said grimly.

Niva twisted it in her hand, liking its weight and balance. Her eyes however never left the approaching men. As she counted them, she realized that the two of them would not fight a whole army of guards with _only_ a dagger and a sword.

Without further thought she turned to Thorin. "Run!" She called to him, ready to sprint away as fast as her stiff and bruised body would allow.

"A dwarf does not flee from a fight!" He shouted back, still looking ahead.

"Today he does." With that Niva pulled him away by his sleeve, surprised that after a few feet of dragging he actually followed her.

"And where to now?" He asked breathlessly while they took one corner after another.

"You have been here before! Where could we go?" Niva answered. Her whole upper body had been crashed against the bottom of the cage as it had hit the ground. The bruising made it painful for her to breathe, let alone run.

"Here!" He called, stopping in front of a stone well. Niva came to a stand next to him, looking down into the dark black hole in the ground.

"You must be joking!" She hissed, clearly not fond of the idea.

"Jump or fight." Thorin said as he looked her in the eyes. "This well has almost dried out. There is a lake at the bottom, in a cave. It tunnels outside of the city into the dwarven realm."

"Why didn't you mention that sooner…" Niva breathed and in an instant she jumped over the stones into the darkness.

"This lass will be the end of me…" He grumbled to himself before following her into the dark deep hole, right before the guards stormed onto the small place at the edge of their town. They did not use this well anymore nor did they know about its secrets. Thus, they met a dead end and went on to search a different place.

As Niva hit the surface of the icy water, she felt as if her body was being ripped apart. Every injury she had acquired during the past week was piercing her body like a knife. After a few seconds however the coldness of the water numbed her body to a point where she could almost not feel any pain at all. She looked around, frantically searching for a shore. Just then Thorin hit the water right next to her. The force of his speed dragged her down underwater again, now also numbing her brain. They would freeze to death if they did not leave the water soon. As she broke through the surface again, gasping for air, her eyes searched for the dwarf.

"Over here!" Thorin called, swimming towards what must be the shore. Shivering Niva followed him into the direction he was heading. It took a minute but then they both crawled onto the cold stone floor of the cave.

"You did not mention how cold it would be…" Niva breathed. She could not feel her feet anymore and generally felt quite lightheaded.

"What do you expect of a lake in a cavern which not a ray of sun has ever hit?" He answered while searching for the entrance to the tunnel he assumed to be here.

Niva still only wore the linen shirt, Thorin however was clad as usual in many layers. No surprise the cold did not bother him as much. Right then, Thorin spotted the tunnel he was looking for.

"Come." He merely said, dragging Niva behind him into the dark tunnel.

"Surely I will not remain here!" Niva complained. "So you can just as well let go of my arm."

"No I cannot, for you will get lost in the dark if I let go of you. And I am not up to yet another rescue." He answered not all that friendly. With a small sigh Niva let him clutch her wrist as they moved through the darkness.

"Do you even know where we are going?" Niva asked after a while, her voice high from the cold.

"Yes." He answered grimly. Nothing more. With a jerk of her arm Niva escaped his grip on her.

"If I am bothering you _so_ much, why did you even free me from that cage?!" She asked angrily.

"Because." He answered, taking hold of her arm once again and continued to walk. "You do not bother me, your questions bother me." He added after a while. "You talk and talk and yet never answer any of my questions."

"Maybe because of your delightful friendliness." Niva replied sarcastically.

"Do not tempt me…" Thorin growled and then remained silent until he saw a dim light in front of them. "This will be the city of dwarves. We will be safe here for the night." He finally said, looking at an almost frozen Niva next to him in the little light they had. Guilt overcame him as he saw her. He should not have been so harsh on her.

"Can we find a fire?" She asked quietly, giving up on her tough attitude for the moment. "I wouldn't like dying here on the street." Sarcasm however was never lost on her.

Thorin let go of her arm now that they were at the edge of the dwarven town. "Follow me, I will find you someplace warm."

Without another word he stalked off down the road. For a while Niva followed him through the night, watching the little life that was still going on around her. Finally they made stop at an inn, or at least something that looked similar. Once Thorin had opened the door, warm air hit Niva's face and she would have loved to merely sink into it, but Thorin took her by the arm again and pulled her inside. By now her mind was almost as numb as her body. She did not think nor feel nor process any of the happenings. She let him sit her down on a chair near a fireplace while he went off to talk to whoever was standing behind her. After a few minutes Niva felt life return to her body and she let out a long breath. Her mind picked up the pace of the world around her again and she stood up, walking around the small room. Thorin was nowhere to be seen but for now Niva did not mind. She was warming up quickly, her shirt however was still an icy block on her.

"Here laddie…" A dwarf came up behind her, handing her a bowl of steaming soup. "That's about all we can make in the middle of the night."

Surprise flashed through her eyes as she gladly accepted the bowl. "Did Thorin…?" She asked but was interrupted by the dwarf in front of her.

"He asked me to keep you alive while he is gone. And to not let you leave…" He added the second sentence with caution.

With yet another sigh Niva sat down by the fire once more and began devouring the soup. It made her warm on the inside and allowed her to be annoyed by Thorin's request for her not to leave. Did he honestly believe her to be that dumb? To go out into the night in her poor silly shirt only to be raided by the men of the neighboring town? Her annoyance was alleviated by the fact that he had ordered her soup. Maybe after all he was not that ignorant. She owed him her freedom at least. Even if she did not like to owe anyone anything, she was surprisingly glad that it was him and not another. He was grumpy and odd, but there was something kind about him.

Long after Niva had curled up in her chair, the door on the other end of the room swung open and said dwarf walked in, heavily packed. As he entered the light of the fire, he dropped various packages in a corner and sat down on a chair opposite to hers.

"I see color has returned to your face." He stated, more friendly now.

"Yes, I would assume I was quite frozen when you left me here." She laughed slightly.

"You were colder than the water itself." He grumbled. "Would have been quite ironic if you had died on me after I put so much effort into saving you."

"Thank you for that." Niva smiled at him, trying her best not to let the red rise to her cheeks.

"Do you feel better now?" He asked.

"At least I feel like myself again." She closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm light on her face. Fire was such a great thing, and yet also so deadly. "How about you? Are you alright?"

Thorin watched the light of the flames dance across her face. She was so strange… "I'm fine." He answered after a while.

"Where did you go while I was frozen in here?" Niva asked curiously after some time of enjoyable silence.

"I gathered supplies. I must leave at dawn or I will be late." He answered and stood up from his spot by the fire. Instead he picked up a package of fabric and threw it onto Niva's lap. "Wear this. I wouldn't want you to freeze to death again."

Irritated she looked down at the pile of fabric. It was dark green and rather woolly. As she undid the ribbon that was wrapped around it, she realized that it was a cloak, warm and soft. Inside lay a pair of leathery trousers and a _new_ linen shirt.

"Well, I assume I owe you quite a lot already…" Niva said slowly, hiding her annoyance at this fact. "How do you expect me to repay you?"

"I expect you to not get me into trouble again. That would be enough." He answered while roaming through his many packs, eventually handing her shoes as well.

Niva accepted them, but only after a fight with herself over it. He could not simply give her these things like she was a damsel in need of his help. However it seemed like he did not do such thing often for he was equally awkward about this as she was.

Before he could stop her, Niva had already taken off her old shirt and was ready to put on the new one. Quickly he turned away, looking sternly into the opposite direction.

" Wouldn't you rather change in a more… private place?" He asked lowly.

"I don't mind." Niva answered merrily behind him.

"But _I_ mind…" He growled.

"Don't tell me you've not had… acquaintances, where you come from." She laughed while buttoning up the shirt. "Why does a woman's body make you uncomfortable?"

"It does not, as long as she keeps it to herself." He answered, still quite unhappy about their current situation.

"You can continue your packing and roaming, I'm all covered." She laughed at him. Probably it was not nice to make fun of him for this but she simply could not resist.

Thorin went on packing, still avoiding to look at Niva, while she put on trousers, shoes and cloak.

"I almost forgot about this quest of yours…" Niva finally said as they were both sitting back in front of the fire, everything packed up neatly in the corner. "Is that why you must leave at dawn?"

With a sigh he decided that it had no use to leave her in the dark, whatever the consequences might be. It would be better than this look she had on her face. "Yes, that is the reason. I am to meet a few of my kin in Hobbiton."

"And if I may ask, what is the true cause of the quest? You would not be so serious about it if it wasn't important."

"That's enough!" He answered, angered by her curiosity but more by his will to tell her all about it.

"Excuse my asking." Niva said quietly. She was honestly sad that he still did not trust her. And yet, how could he? She had not answered any of his questions either.

"What do you want to know?" She asked instead. "You wanted an explanation. But _what_ is it that you want me to tell?"

A bit puzzled he blinked a few times while watching the light dance over her face. "Well… Start with the easiest. Why were you in a cage?"

Niva sighed, this would not be easy at all. But she would have to open up a little if she wanted to learn more about his quest. "Alright… After we last met, I made my way towards the shire. As I came to a river I washed my clothes, thus only wearing the already dried linen shirt while I lay down to take a nap. Then I would assume I was spotted and caught, beaten unconscious and put in a cage on a cart. Like this we travelled for about a week, with no food and little to no water. When we got here I was put in the cage in the tree until you happened to cross my sight."

Thorin frowned. "That is the how, now I would like the _why_."

"Holy mahal why am I doing this…" She sighed. "I was taken by a man with a scarred face. We met a _few_ years ago…" She shuddered at the thought. "To make it short, I nearly killed him and hurt a few others. He caught me to sell me to the highest bidder."

Thorin remained silent for a while, only studying her face.

"There are a few people who would rather see me dead. And some would love to see me tortured. Or...else." She added, as the silence made her uncomfortable now. "I have done some things that I don't like to talk about. But they are the reason that I was to be sold."

As Thorin still remained silent Niva got increasingly nervous. "So… Does that answer your questions?"

"For now, I assume…" He said, absently. In his mind he tried to put things to an order, but yet he could not make much sense of her. But at least he knew now that she was no criminal. Or at least he guessed so. Hoped so even.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asked finally, after a long time of silence. Why on eru did she even care about his opinion of her?

"No, it is nothing you said. It's fine, really." He answered and smiled at her slightly.

"Will you tell me more about your quest now?" She tried carefully, unsure if it would anger him.

He sighed as an answer. Why only did he want to let her in on this secret so much? What was it about her that made him trust her without even knowing anything about her, if he was being honest. He couldn't tell. As he had still not answered after a while, Niva gave up trying and curled up once more in the chair.

"Good night." She said and inwardly cursed herself, for she still could not hide her disappointment from her voice. With that she closed her eyes and turned towards the fire, letting it comfort her troubled mind. Thorin on the other hand did not yet dare to sleep. He was fighting with himself, about the almost only subject of his concern right now. What would Niva be up to once he left for Hobbiton? She would most likely get herself into trouble again and Thorin felt himself wanting to prevent that. Maybe it was all in his mind, but he thought he had discovered today that Niva was not only the sarcastic, strong, annoying creature he had met in Bree. There was something below this facade that begged to be explored. Clearly she would not simply tell him all about herself, not now at least.

He watched her eyes twitch and listened to her deep breath. She was probably the only thing in his life right now that got his mind off the mountain, the dragon and the gold. Maybe it was not a bad idea. Maybe it was possible. But no, he could not let a stranger intervene in a quest of this importance. Especially not a stranger who got herself into trouble so easily. And yet, he had seen her fight, seen her move and talk and think. She was not stupid, by far she wasn't. But could he allow her to join him on this quest? Or would it only cause distraction? He did not know. With these thoughts on his mind, he drifted off into an uneasy slumber.

When Niva awoke the next morning, it was just about to dawn. The fire had burnt out and she felt a little cold. Thorin was standing all packed up by the door, looking at her with a frown. He had only left a pair of daggers by her chair, all other supplies he had packed up on his back.

"Get up, we need to leave before the sun rises any further." Thorin said quietly.

" _We_ as in I can come with you?" She raised an eyebrow at him, a smile spreading on her face.

Thorin rolled with his eyes and nodded. "I tried leaving you here, you know… I wanted to be gone already."

"What happened?" Niva asked as she tied the daggers to her belt under the cloak and stepped towards the door next to him.

"I couldn't." He merely said, pushing the door open and they both left, walking down the still empty road.

With a rather fast pace they hurried towards the other end of the city.

"We're heading east, and then to the north." Thorin informed her as they passed the last houses.

"I know…" Niva smiled to herself. It made her grin to just think that he did not leave her behind! She would've been fine, but this was far more interesting than being on her own. And as much as she tried to hide it, she actually enjoyed his company quite a lot. "So… You could not leave me behind?" She asked after a while. The tease in her voice was already beginning to annoy him.

"I already know it was a stupid idea to take you with me." He groaned. "But yes, I did not want to leave you there. Couldn't risk another _surprising_ rescue coming gun me. And you are odd."

"That is the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a while!" She joked with sarcasm almost dripping from her voice. As he did not react, she turned to enjoying the nature that was starting to be all around them. Soon they were back at the river that Niva had seen on their way to the people's town.

"Mahal, what have I done…" Thorin grumbled to himself, but now Niva ignored him.

"So… I can join your quest?" She asked curiously, testing how far she could go with him.

"We will see about that. For now, you can join _me._ In silence."

"Fair enough."

They walked in dead silence for a while, before Thorin finally asked what had been on his mind for a while. "So, _what_ exactly are you? Your feet aren't hairy, your ears are not pointy, you have no beard and yet you are… simply not human in any way."

Just as Niva was about to answer, an arrow hit a tree to her right.

Panic came to her senses and she turned around in blank panic, seeing scarface coming their way with his trusty sidekicks and a few other.

"Oh no…" Thorin groaned. "Not again."

"In the open field we are easy prey!" Niva shouted, and they both ran towards the trees, into the forest.

"Do you know your way?" He shouted to her, as she was in the front.  
"Every way is right as long as it leads away from them" She answered hurriedly and looked back at him. She almost felt like their followers had lost track of them when suddenly a pained cry let her blood freeze in her veins and she stopped dead on the spot. "No…"

* * *

 **So... what do you think? If you want to make me happy follow and review! It makes me write a LOT faster ;P**


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